Coaching the Healthcare Industry

In recent years, Coaching Out of the Box® has done some large projects in the healthcare sector that have been particularly invigorating and interesting. We chatted with CEO Alison Hendren about working in the healthcare sector, and why she feels it’s so important that those in this field have coaching skills.

Can you describe some of the work Coaching Out of the Box® has done with larger healthcare organizations?

AH: So far our Flagship 5/5/5 Coaching Skills Training Program™ has been delivered to over 3,000 people who work in the healthcare sector. Participants have included leaders, managers, clinicians, physicians, disability management workers, nurses and more.

We have also delivered a shortened version of the program that included doctors located in Nigeria using our Virtual Classrooms. One of the participants, Dr. Talemoh Wycliff Dah, Senior Clinical Advisor in Ipas, Nigeria says the program had instant impact. He says: "I started using the concepts immediately after the first session. These are skills all our Clinical Mentors will need and the concept needs to be passed to all of them. Coaching Out of the Box® can sharpen any coach's skill in any walk of life."

Why are coaching skills so important for those in a healthcare environment?

AH: Healthcare is a fundamental need for everyone and we all will experience the health care environment at some point in our lives. Nurses, doctors and other various clinicians benefit hugely from receiving coaching and being supported to maximize the strengths and talents of each other and their teams.

We need to make it easier for people to be able to do their best work under demanding conditions. Back in 1999 we were exhibitors attending a large Healthcare conference in New Orleans that was made up of Chief Nursing Officers and we were blown away by the passion, commitment and EXHAUSTION of these wonderful people. What could support them, what could possibly alleviate some of those demands, we wondered? We knew having coaching skills and experiencing coaching could make a difference.

Bit by bit in working with these folks, we saw the difference using coaching skills made in their daily interactions. We’ve repeatedly been told how valuable learning coaching skills was for them. For example, Lani deHek of the B.C. Nurses Union says: "On a personal note, the skills learned through this program have stayed with me and I have been able to apply them to both my professional and personal life. The capacity to ask coach-like questions has resulted in better listening skills and developing more trust and understanding with those we work with.”

We hear time and again how much the 5/5/5 Coaching Skills Training Program™ has made a real impact for those folks in the healthcare sector. Currently it is embedded in the Leadership Development Program at BC Health and also Saskatoon Health's Leadership Development Program. We are so excited about this work and the potential and possibilities that it unlocks. Our vision is that it will one day be part of the education and training for all clinicians, physicians, specialists and healthcare workers worldwide.